9 week old puppy not eating!

jackira

Hi, i've have my puppy for 8 days now, she has settled in really well, but since saturday she has been eating very little. She wont eat from her bowl at all anymore, and will only eat out of my hand..i'm sure she doesn't really want to but will eat a little bit just because i'm asking her too.

She managed to eat a bit more this morning but was sick straight away. I was told that dogs wont starve themselves and as long as she drinking lots, which she is she will eat when she wants to.

But i'm starting to get a little worried about her as it's clear that she has lost a bit of weight. But she's still playing and messing about like puppies do.

The food she is on is a mix of what the breeders has her on ( bakers for puppies ) and what i am giving her the purina, i was mixing it and gradually adding less of the bakers.

Last night because she hadn't eaten much i gave her a little bit of chicken just to try and get her to eat something...she nearly bit my hand off to get at it lol. I thought maybe my kids had been feeding her other food and now thats why she doesn't want her own but they insisted that 100% they haven't given her anything.

Is it better to give her something else just so she will eat or leave it untill she eats her own food!

She's not chewed or eaten anything around the house i'm watching her like a hawk so i know it's nothing like that.

Any advice i'd be very grateful thanks.

adser53

first of all congrats on the new puppy :-)
As for the eating, I'd definitely stop the hand feeding and giving her nice stuff like chicken because she'll just get fussy and will continue not eating her 'dog' food as long as she thinks she'll get a tasty treat if she holds out. Puppies are masters at getting what they want and it's only natural for us aa owners to panic. Your best bet is to put her food down for,say, 15-20 mins and if she doesnt eat it take it away and give her nothing else until the next meal time. Then repeat the 15 minute window. She'll soon catch on that this is all she's getting and she better eat it when given the chance. It sounds cruel but you have to do it cos it really is for the best. some dogs can go as long as 4 or 5 days until they give in. If she's drinking and in good spirits otherwise I think she's just chancing her arm with you! Good luck :-)

jackira

Thanks for the advice. I did only give her the chicken once, so i wont do that anymore.

I feel better now knowing that they can be stubborn and hold out for that long, but you just get worried. I've had dogs before but she's the first that has refused to eat.

I was just thinking on friday morning i started training her in the back garden with the basic commands and on the lead, just to get her used to it...she's a st.bernard so she gonna be big and i need her to know who boss from the start cause out walking when she's older if she decides to take off i dont think there's going to be much i'll be able to do about it.

I only used her food but i was feeding it to her from my hand...would that maybe be why she wont eat from her bowl any more. How else could i do it then...i feel like i've never had a dog before lol cause she is totally different to my other dogs. I was getting her to sit, wait and then i would walk away and then ask her to come..she cottoned on very quickly to it!

kildara

I was going to say exactly what adser53 said!
Our girl is the very same and even though we do this "15minute and take it up" thing she still goes back into the old routine every now and again so you may just have to persevere.

What breed is she? People may have some further information if they have had the same breed.

meeayz

Hi , Are you softening the bakers with warm water ? Its vital that you do that so that it wont tear her insides . Try soften it with gravy as well , dogs love the taste of it . Maybe try something soft like porridge or scrambled egg aswell , and then introduce the bakers once you see she is eating again. Do make sure that its food is soft though . best of luck

kildara

meeayz wrote: »

Hi , Are you softening the bakers with warm water ? Its vital that you do that so that it wont tear her insides .

I'm not so sure that dog foor will tear a puppys insides.
It can be fed dry to help clean teeth.
Although adding water may make it smell better and therefore the pup may eat it more willingly, it wont tear the dogs insides if fed dry...

peasant

jackira wrote: »

She managed to eat a bit more this morning but was sick straight away.

she has lost a bit of weight.

Whatever about being fussy ..this doesn't sound good.

Get her checked, just to be sure that nothing serious is afoot.

jackira

i'm glad you said that kildare lol i was gonna rush off to the vets with her!!!

I dont soften it i've been giving it to her dry...but it's worth giving it a go if it will help.

I dont really have much of the bakers left, the breeder said after a week i should have her on the purina only.

Maybe it was a bit quick that i did it. I started off 3/4 bakers and 1/4 purina. I'll buy some more and go back to maybe half of each and see if that helps at all.

peasant

adser53 wrote: »

first of all congrats on the new puppy :-)
As for the eating, I'd definitely stop the hand feeding and giving her nice stuff like chicken because she'll just get fussy and will continue not eating her 'dog' food as long as she thinks she'll get a tasty treat if she holds out. Puppies are masters at getting what they want and it's only natural for us aa owners to panic. Your best bet is to put her food down for,say, 15-20 mins and if she doesnt eat it take it away and give her nothing else until the next meal time. Then repeat the 15 minute window. She'll soon catch on that this is all she's getting and she better eat it when given the chance. It sounds cruel but you have to do it cos it really is for the best. some dogs can go as long as 4 or 5 days until they give in. If she's drinking and in good spirits otherwise I think she's just chancing her arm with you! Good luck :-)

I'm sorry, but this isn't good advice in this case.

The above is true and does work for grown dogs, but we are talking about a 9 week old pup here.

At that age they normally get and need 4-5 small feeds per day.

Starving them for 4- 5 days could actually kill a pup.

adser53

peasant wrote: »

I'm sorry, but this isn't good advice in this case.

The above is true and does work for grown dogs, but we are talking about a 9 week old pup here.

At that age they normally get and need 4-5 small feeds per day.

Starving them for 4- 5 days could actually kill a pup.

I'm not saying by any means to starve the dog!!! i merely mentioned it so the OP wouldn't worry unneccessarily about the dog not eating for a day or 2. I found in my experience that all pups go off their food for a day or two but thats just my opinion. I do agree with your earlier point though, if the pup has been sick after eating a small bit I'd get her checked. Maybe the purina just doesn't agree with her as she wasn't sick after the chicken or after eating a meal with higher amounts of Bakers?
What would you recommend the OP do to prevent the dog becoming dependent on hand feeding nice bits of chicken though and holding out for that instead of eating it's own food? We've all seen that happen before

adser53

meeayz wrote: »

Hi , Are you softening the bakers with warm water ? Its vital that you do that so that it wont tear her insides . Try soften it with gravy as well , dogs love the taste of it . Maybe try something soft like porridge or scrambled egg aswell , and then introduce the bakers once you see she is eating again. Do make sure that its food is soft though . best of luck

I've never heard of a dry puppy food ever tearing a dogs insides

peasant

adser53 wrote: »

What would you recommend the OP do to prevent the dog becoming dependent on hand feeding nice bits of chicken though and holding out for that instead of eating it's own food? We've all seen that happen before

put one bit of chicken in with the regular food ...possibly near the bottom

Or better still ...take piece of chicken and roll it in your hands until it breaks up into tiny threads. Use same chickeny hands to put food into bowl while mixing doog food with chicken bits.

Oh yeah ...wash hands when finished

star-pants

Puppy food expands with liquid, this is why usually you soak it for a few weeks , less each time. Because they scoff the food then have a big drink and bloat city. Shouldn't do damage but it would make it uncomfortable. I would try soaking the food, no more hand feed, and if in a day or so you're having no luck, check up wit the vet will rule out anything serious, as peasant said it has been going on a bit. But your pup is in a new home etc. It can take a while to adjust. Soak food, just for like ten mins or less, and put down for 15mins and take it back up.

boodlesdoodles

Has she been wormed? When they are that young going off their food accompanied with being sick can often be a sign of worms. What are her poos like? Happened to my fella when he was around 9 weeks, took him to the vet who gave him an antibiotic injection just in case but also gave us worming tabs for him. The poo watching for the next couple of days was very exciting :eek:

Nothing wrong with giving her chicken every now and then. Dogs do get bored with their food and a bit of something different every now and then gives them a bit of variation. As she's a puppy I'd agree with previous poster about not starving her its very dangerous for a wee one. If she's being sick the chicken would be easy on her stomach and the softened nuts are a good idea, cooked rice is easy on the stomach as well. Yes when they are older the dry nuts help with cleaning their teeth but at 9 weeks she'll still have her baby teeth and like someone else said she's only a puppy she hasn't the chewing capability just yet!

jackira

Hi thanks for all the replies.

I've just this second soaked some of her food for her and she's eating it!!! Not sure how much she will eat but anything is better than nothing.

I've only given her a little bit as the only other thing she had to eat was this morning and she was sick.

If she does eat it all should i give her more if she's still hungry or leave it till in the morning?? Dont want to over do it and have her be sick again.

I phoned the vet who said to see how she was by tomorrow evening and if she has managed to keep anything down, if she hasn't then to bring her in and they would look at her.

She has been wormed only last week and isn't due untill this sunday and then again 2 weeks after that, and she's up to date with all her vaccinations.

Well she's just come into me so i though she has finished it all but she only ate half. And i only gave her half of what i normally would. And she threw up breakfast and didn't want lunch. But at least it is something.

Thanks again for all your advice.

ghost_ie

Try adding a spoonful of cod liver oil to her food. This should encourage her to eat, and will also be good for her joints and coat

Jules

As peasant say letting a puppy go without food a for a few days is definately a no no. I would advise little and often feeding with her as said 4-5 times per day but do only leave the food down for about 20 mins. If you leave it down for longer they generally start a grazing pattern and dont eat a good meal. I would advise feeding your puppy normal dry food, with the addition of certain things, in moderation. The tip peasant gave about suing the chickeny hands to handle the food, great idea! Generally i would add boiled pasta or rice... IN MODERATION also boiled chicken or mince, making sure you leave the mince for the fat to settle and skim it off again in moderation, but remember if you are adding stuff you ahev to reduce the amoutn of dry given so you are not over feeding.

Use fruit and veg as treats instead of store bought markies etc. But do research into the fruits and veg as some are not good for them! But mainly if you are concerned about anything contact your local vet sometimes a matter of a few hours can make a difference and dont wait for advice on an internet forum, no matter how good it is!


/ot - peasant never thought id see the day where i would agree with ya so much!

wexford202

Whta kind of dog is it?

I have a staff. when he was pup the breeder and vet recommended the following:

Porridge made with water or puppy milk (Available in supermarket)
Scrambled eggs.
wheetabix
puppy food soaked.

Most of the dog books will have dietary needs in them. Call into your local pet shop and just give a flick over the couple of pages about feeding for ideas.

Steve30x

The poster already said its a st bernard pup. These are good tips

Jules

Porridge made with water or puppy milk (Available in supermarket)
Scrambled eggs.
wheetabix
These have no nutritional value for a growing puppy, would you feed you child dog food if it refused to eat?

andreac

Jules wrote: »

Porridge made with water or puppy milk (Available in supermarket)
Scrambled eggs.
wheetabix
These have no nutritional value for a growing puppy, would you feed you child dog food if it refused to eat?

Sorry but you are wrong, scrambled egg is very good for them as it has protein in it, a lot of breeders will feed this along with puppy food to give them something with extra protein etc.

wexford202

andreac wrote: »

Sorry but you are wrong, scrambled egg is very good for them as it has protein in it, a lot of breeders will feed this along with puppy food to give them something with extra protein etc.

Thanks Adreac for sticking up for me!!!

I got it from a book specifically for my breed of dog. I mixed with the soaked puppy nuts and he loved it.

I would a very odd time do it still on a freezing cold morning as a treat.

I would imagine the author of the book would know slight more about the dietary requirements for a specific breed than Jules anyway!

andreac

No problem Wexford, a lot of breeders give it to puppies to help them along, its actually good for them, obv not too much of it, but a little here and there.

Jules you are contradicting yourself saying about feeding human food to dogs, you mentioned to feed pasta, rice and chicken, so whats wrong with scrambled egg??